See John Meore's shot of the team taking on Sacred Heart at the 2013 SHU Hampton Inn Invitational.

Millicent Van Norden enters her second season at the helm for the Lady Hawks. In 12 seasons, Van Norden has amassed a career record of 179-227 while accumulating three 20-plus win seasons and receiving two Coach of the Year honors.

In her first season with the Lady Hawks, the team finished 3-21 overall (2-10 MEAC) with numerous UMES players receiving recognition, such as All-Tournament, All-MEAC, and All-Academic. Libero Jingqiao Li earned All-MEAC and All-Academic honors while setters Sonia Rosales and Petra Jerabkova each won MEAC Rookie of the Week once during the season.

In 2012, Van Norden served as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under former Hawks head manToby Rens. The Panthers went 17-14, falling in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinal round. She was at Coppin State for the 2011 season and South Carolina State from 2007-2010. There, she transformed the Bulldogs from the bottom of the league to a MEAC Championship in 2010. SCSU defeated Delaware State in the title game 3-1, the first MEAC Volleyball title at South Carolina State since 1990. Her team was turned around from 1-7 in league play in 2007 to an impressive 6-2 in 2010.

Van Norden led South Carolina State to a .500 or better record in conference play in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons. She was named the MEAC Coach of the Year in 2008. Prior to her stint at South Carolina State, Van Norden was the head coach at North Carolina A&T for three seasons. She compiled an overall record of 49-52 and was 23-7 in the MEAC and was named the conference Coach of the Year in 2005 after guiding the Aggies to a 9-1 record.

Van Norden began her coaching career at her alma mater Alcorn State. In three seasons, she posted a record of 71-42 and won two Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Eastern Division titles and made two SWAC Tournament championship match appearances.

Van Norden was a highly decorated student-athlete at Alcorn State where she earned letters in volleyball and track and field. On the volleyball court, she was a two-time All-SWAC selection and was named the pre-season volleyball SWAC Player of the Year in 2000. On the track, Sylvan-Van Norden was a 2000 USA Track and Field Indoor National Participant and a provisional qualifier in the long jump and the 100-meter hurdles in that same year. She currently owns the school and SWAC record in the heptathlon with 5,071 points.

She earned both her bachelor's in education (2000), and a master's degree in secondary education (2003) from Alcorn State.